Sequence Of Behavior Patterns Research Articles

Chemical profile of the volatiles of Baccharis salicifolia (Asteraceae) and interaction with Macrodactylus nigripes (Coleoptera: Melolonthidae)

Plant products or substances mediate interactions among organisms from different trophic levels, including phytophagous insects. These interactions have been cited in a chemical-ecology context for species of Coleoptera Melolonthidae. However, there are no previous reports of these interactions among melolonthid beetles species distributed in Mexico and host plants. For the above, the interaction between adults of ‘rose chafer’ Macrodactylus nigripes Bates (Coleoptera:Melolonthidae) and ‘seep willow’ shrub Baccharis salicifolia (Ruíz and Pav.) Pers. (Asteraceae) was recorded and the leaves volatiles of seep willow that might be involved in the attraction of these insects were extracted and identified. The sequence of behavior patterns that conforms this interaction was described. Females of M. nigripes emerge from the soil and flight to the leaves of seep willow shrubs. Each female settled on leaf and they place their mandibles on the leaf margin and start moving them from right to left to obtain small leaf fragments to ingest. In addition, females exhibit a similar ‘calling’ behavior as well as the others species. Following the females, males emerge from the soil and repeat the females’ behavior, approaching them for mating. A list of the leaves volatiles of seep willow was generated by solid phase microextraction (SPME) and coupled gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS), where the most abundant chemicals were α-pinene, trimethylindan and cyclohexylbenzene. These compounds have been previously reported in other plant species, including some species considered as host plants for Melolonthidae.

Sexual behaviour of the Black Mountain dusky salamander (Desmognathus welteri), and the evolutionary history of courtship in the Desmognathinae

Plethodontid salamanders of the North American subfamily Desmognathinae offer excellent opportunities for an integrative understanding of the form, functions and phylogeny of sexual behaviour patterns. The first description of courtship in the Black Mountain dusky salamander Desmognathus welteri is presented. Once oriented toward their partners, males produce multiple tactile, visual and chemical stimuli that probably function to stimulate, or ‘persuade’, females to mate. Persuasion is accomplished by behaviour patterns that include head rubbing, butterfly, pulling and snapping, and perhaps nudging and tail undulation. Sperm transfer is indirect by a spermatophore that is deposited on the substrate during a sequence of behaviour patterns involving both sexes known as tail‐straddling walk. Fine‐scale synchronization and orientation of partners at this time is crucial for successful insemination. The evolutionary histories of eight sexual behaviour patterns for 19 taxa of desmognathine salamanders are then reconstructed. Our phyloethological analyses suggest that the courtship of desmognathines consists of a mosaic of ancestral (plesiomorphic) and derived (apomorphic) behavioural traits. The greatest variation among taxa involves behaviour patterns that are exhibited early in sexual encounters as, or shortly after, males orient toward females. Behaviour patterns that occur at closer range and most obviously are persuasive in function show less variation among taxa, and those that lead to sperm transfer (tail‐straddling walk) are invariant. While our phyloethological analyses reveal aspects of the evolutionary history of behavioural form in the Desmognathinae, further work is needed before thorough analyses of behavioural functions can be conducted.

Early Social Environment and the Fighting Behaviour of Young Oreochromis Niloticus (Pisces, Cichlidae)

[This study examines the influence of early experience with different forms of aggressive behaviour on the fighting behaviour of young fish. Fry of the cichlid fish, Oreochromis niloticus, were raised from hatching in small groups consisting of a normal individual (the test fish) and either mutant conspecifics lacking the dorsal fin and thereby the ability to perform fin displays, or normal ones. Following a 63-day period of development in groups the test fish were confronted in their home tanks with an unfamiliar normal fish for 10 min. The fighting behaviour of the test fish was analyzed considering their previous group type (mutant or normal) and rank (α: or β). There was no difference between test fish in the rate and sequence of behaviour patterns used in fighting. However, test fish that had developed in mutant groups were rarely the first to bite in contests and had a longer latency to biting following the first bite of the stimulus fish than test fish with normal experience. This finding is attributable to the form of aggressive behaviour experienced by the test fish during development but not to existing differences in the amount of aggression previously experienced, nor to previous rank, sex, or size relative to the stimulus fish. The results suggest that early experience influenced decision making by the test fish during the fight. The involvement of the fin displays and the possible mechanism of this influence are discussed., This study examines the influence of early experience with different forms of aggressive behaviour on the fighting behaviour of young fish. Fry of the cichlid fish, Oreochromis niloticus, were raised from hatching in small groups consisting of a normal individual (the test fish) and either mutant conspecifics lacking the dorsal fin and thereby the ability to perform fin displays, or normal ones. Following a 63-day period of development in groups the test fish were confronted in their home tanks with an unfamiliar normal fish for 10 min. The fighting behaviour of the test fish was analyzed considering their previous group type (mutant or normal) and rank (α: or β). There was no difference between test fish in the rate and sequence of behaviour patterns used in fighting. However, test fish that had developed in mutant groups were rarely the first to bite in contests and had a longer latency to biting following the first bite of the stimulus fish than test fish with normal experience. This finding is attributable to the form of aggressive behaviour experienced by the test fish during development but not to existing differences in the amount of aggression previously experienced, nor to previous rank, sex, or size relative to the stimulus fish. The results suggest that early experience influenced decision making by the test fish during the fight. The involvement of the fin displays and the possible mechanism of this influence are discussed.]

A test of the sequential assessment game: fighting in the cichlid fish Nannacara anomala

Many species have a repertoire of behaviour patterns that are used in contests over resources. It is likely that the function of these behaviour patterns is the assessment of asymmetries between contestants in physical variables (e.g. size or strength). Theoretical models of fighting behaviour such as the war of attrition and the hawk-dove game do not incorporate any behavioural mechanisms allowing assessment, and, therefore, yield no predictions about the use of behaviour patterns. In a sequential assessment game, on the other hand, the assessment of asymmetries is a major activity during a fight. Recently, a version of the sequential assessment game with several behavioural options has been developed, and here predictions from this model are tested using data from 102 staged fights between males of the cichlid fish Nannacara anomala. The model predicts that the sequence of behaviour patterns in a fight should be maximally efficient in assessing relative fighting ability. Specific predictions are that (1) the sequence should be organized into phases consisting of one or several behaviour patterns with constant rates of behaviour within a phase, (2) the division into phases should be independent of relative fighting ability, and (3) contests with great asymmetry in relative fighting ability should end in an early phase, whereas matched individuals may proceed through a series of escalations reaching a final phase of more dangerous fighting. The results show that the fighting behaviour of N. anomala is rather well predicted by the model.

A description and analysis of agonistic behavior patterns in an opisthobranch mollusc, Hermissenda crassicornis.

Observation of the encounters which occurred among pairs of Hermissenda crassicornis demonstrated the following: 1. Twenty percent of the encounters are agonistic, involving lunging or biting or both. 2. Agonistic behavior more often follows when the animals meet anterior-to-anterior than when they meet in any other configuration. 3. Initiators of encounters are more likely to win than non-initiators. They are larger than non-initiators and enter encounters head-first more frequently. Knowledge of either the position of the animals or the initiator allows relatively accurate predictions of the eventual winner. Additional knowledge of the size difference does not contribute to improved predictability. 4. The behavior patterns were recorded using I.5 second sampling periods. The sequence of behavior patterns is consistent with a first order Markovian model; this is primarily due to the strong tendency to repeat a pattern just displayed. One can predict the following behavior pattern with an accuracy of 1/3 to 1/4. 5. After removal of the repeated behavior patterns, the transitions between patterns are still consistent with a first order Markovian model. One can now predict the following behavior pattern with an accuracy of 1/5 to 1/6. There exists a greater possibility than before that higher orders of dependency might contribute to the sequence of behavior patterns. 6. The sequence of behavior patterns of agonistic encounters are more rigidly organized than the sequence of non-agonistic encounters. 7. It appears that winners and losers of encounters react in a similar manner to a given behavior pattern of the other.

The Effects of Cumulative Experience On Responses To Novel Objects in Young Isolation-Reared Chimpanzees

AbstractI. Reactions toward small novel objects were studied in two highly cautious isolation-reared chimpanzees. 2. In Experiment I the subjects were presented with 75 different objects. Grasping increased from near-zero-level to high levels, and stereotyped, autistic activities decreased over the 25 test days. At the close of the experiment the subjects spent most of their time in object-contact. This transition from caution to play was more rapid for objects preexposed 16 hrs vs completely novel objects, and for objects constructed of wood vs objects constructed of other materials. 3. Experiment 2 tested whether responsiveness would now be maintained at different levels by different classes of stimuli. It was found that the subjects would grasp a stuffed toy almost incessantly and stereotype infrequently; but with a wood block, grasping decreased and stereotypy increased across several daily trials. The latter decrease of grasping and increase of stereotypy can be interpreted as a "satiation effect". 4. Experiment 3 tested whether specific types of manipulatory reaction would now vary as a function of specific objects; the familiar stuffed toy and wood block were contrasted with three other, novel objects. It was found that behaviour patterns were somewhat different for each object; e.g., the familiar stuffed toy received the highest scores for grasping and draping, a novel stuffed toy received the highest score for hitting, and a novel wood block with holes drilled in it received the highest score for poking. 5. The "innate response" to novelty in these animals thus consisted of a protracted sequence of behaviour patterns, which was determined by interactions between the properties of stimuli and the subject's experience with the same or similar stimulus objects. 6. Over all three experiments, grasping and stereotypy were reciprocally related to each other. With simple objects such as wood blocks, both measures appeared to be curvilinear functions of experience.